Railway-car-connecting platform.



T. DOUGLAS.

RAILWAY CAR GONNBGTING PLATFORM.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 24, 1912.

1,040,529. Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

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THEODORE DOUGLAS, OF SCARBORO, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-CAR-CONNECTING PLATFORM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Paten ted Oct 8, 191 2.

Application filed July 24, 1912. Serial No. 711,272.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, Tnnooonn DOUGLAS, a citizen of the United States, and resident ot Scar-boro, county of lVestchester, a nd State of New York, have made a new and useful l'nvention in Rail\vay-Car-Connerting llatfori'ns, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is directed primarily to appliances adapted for use on railway passonger-cars to provide a safe tread and continuous platform from one car to the adjoining car when the cars are coupled together and in motion; this platform, or bridge, being so designed as to permit the cars to traverse any track curvature or rail inequalities ordinarily found on such roads and to automatically seek its own adjustnient with reference to the car ends and its connection between the cars, and to form a continuous and safe tread for t-he passengers crossing thereupon.

My invention will be fully understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a plan view of the adjoining ends of two passenger cars showing the platform connecting them. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section along the line X, X, and Fig. 8 is a cross section along the line y, y.

lt often occurs on railway trains that passengers become injured in passing 'from one car to another as a result of stepping into the gap between the cars which at times becomes much enlarged owing to the inequalities of the road and to the curvature of the track. Thousands of accidents occur annually from this cause and many of which prove fatal. My invention is designed to overcome this danger and menace to life in attording the passenger, or railway employee, a safe tread in passing from one car to another.

(.)n most rapid transit roads the employees o perating the doors of the cars are compelled to stand between the car ends and are often injured from their feet slipping in between `the cars on the lui-ching of the cars, or from other causes, and this platform will afford them a. safe floor upon which to stand in the perfinmance of their duties. I accomplish this by a combination of springs and a plate made of steel or of other suitable substance supported on the tloor of the car and in surface alinement with the floor. This plate projects out beyond the end of thc car and terminates in a smooth surface parallel to the cross section of the car. ll'rhrn two cars are coupled the plates contact on their outer edges and surface with each other iu alinement with the floor of the cars. '.lhe plates are held in contact position with each other by springs and are held in contact with the floor of the car by means ot an opening in the ca r lloor through which a connecting circular boss passes to the under side of the :tloor and which is there attached to a plate of dissimilar size and form to the one above the floor. This opcn ing in the loor is of such size as to permit this vertical boss to move back and forth in line with the major axis of the car and also to move across that axis in following the inequalities of the car end movements Referring now to the drawings in detail and irst to Fig. l, where a complete application of the invention is shown, C, C represent two car ends and 1, 1 the abutting plates, or platform. Q, 2 represent the oval openings in the floor of the cars and 3, 3 the plates beneath the cars connected to the plates l, l by means of the bosses fl, 4l. The plates Il., l are divided along the line 5. The springs (3, o are connected at their back ends to cast lugs 7, 7, 7, 7 ot' the under plates 3, El. and at their opposite ends they are connected to the body of the car by the brackets 8, S, 8, 8. These springs are in tension and have a tendency to extend the plate farther out beyond the end of the car thus forcing the two plates into constant Contact with each other along the line 5. The springs S), 9 are connected at their front ends to the bosses 10, 10, of the under plate and at their opposite ends they are connected to the body of the car by the brackets l1, 1l.

12, lf2, see Fig. 2, are double-headed keys passed through slots in the circular bosses 4t, #t and held permanently in their proper position by the metal shims 13, 13 having their ends turned downward to prevent their dislodgnunt, there being used shims of such number and size as to [ill the vacant space in the slots between the doublehcadcd keys '12, l2 and the under plates 3, 3; they are designed to secure the keys in place and to keep the under 'plates in contact with the floor of the. car.

2, represent the oval openings in the tloor of the ears and show the longitudinal motion permitted of the bosses 4, 4t which Work in them.

14, 14- are downward extensions of the plate 1, 1 offering a broader surface for the vertical motion between the cars along the line 5.

2, 2, see Fig. 3, show the opening in the floor of the car, and indicate the amount of transverse motion permitted of the boss 4.

3 represents the under plate, 12 the double-headed key, and 13 the shims.

15, 15 are two downwardly extending lugs from the plate 3 holding the key 12 in a fixed position relative to the plate 3 and causing the plate 3 to follow the torsion movements of the plate 1.

8, 8 are brackets connecting the front ends of the springs 6, 6 to the body of the car.

The operation of the device is as follows: Vhen the cars are disco-nnected the springs 6, 6, 6, 6 pull the plates 1, 1, forcing them outwardly beyond the ends of the car; on the coupling of the cars the two plates contact along the line 5 and are forced inward a distance corresponding to the end clearance of the cars and the springs 6, 6, 6, 6 are placed in greater tension thereby. After the cars are coupled and the train is in motion the unequal alinement of the car ends is followed and taken care of by the flexibility of the springs, the springs 6, 6, 6, 6 keeping the two plates in surface with each other, and the springs 9, 9 keeping the plates in alinement with the cars, though all of the springs interact to that end. Vertical motion is provided for along the line 5 and extreme transverse movement may be taken up along the same line.

1 do not limit myself to the special details of construction shown as I believe that it is broadly new with me to provide a device of this nature permitting of extensive longi tudinal and transverse motion in the device itself with reference to the car. In the application of this device it may be placed below the floor of the car and the springs may be attached in a suitable manner to the upl 1. The combination of a rigid car platform at the end of a car, a floating auxiliary platform extending out beyond the end of the rigid platform, an opening in .the rigid platform below the floating platform, a circular boss extending downward from the floating platform, as a part thereof, through this opening in the rigid platform, and a plate of greater area than the opening'in the rigid platform, means for rigidly connecting the plate on the under side of the opening to the oating platform, through the boss member, in such a manner as to permit of a sliding motion of the floating platform, both longitudinal, circular and transverse, within the limits 4of the boss movements in the opening, and a plurality of tension springs connected at one of their ends to the plate and at their opposite ends to the rigid platform, in such a manner as to permit of longitudinal, transverse and circular motions in the fioating platform when acted upon by a corresponding platform held in a floating position by corresponding springs on an adjoining car, and the said springs being so designed and adjusted as to keep the two plat-forms in contact, and yet to permit of extreme transverse and vertical movements along their contact faces, and when the two floating platforms are in contactto present a continuous tread or safety-bridge joining the two cars,` and when released from the influence of the adjoining platform and the movements of the car end, to return the floating platform to its normal positionwith reference to the rigid platform, substantially as described. y

2. An appliance for use with moving vehicles constituting a platform, or bridge, connecting them and consisting of a plate attached to each vehicle and held in a position of contact with a corresponding plate on the adjoining vehicle by means ofI springs so arranged as to permit of longitudinal and transverse motions of the plates and circular motions without fixed centers, substantially as described.

3. An appliance for use on railway cars consisting of plates extending beyond the ends of the cars and which, when the cars are coupled, surface with each other and are held in their surfaced position by means of springs which permit longitudinal, transverse and circular movements of the plates to compensate the irregular motions of the ends of the cars and to constantly form a bridge, or platform, connecting between them over which the passengers may walk, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

y THEODORE DOUGLAS.

Witnesses:

J. F. COOPER, W. ELwoon BRUSH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

